" President Obama strikes classy tone on the most important night ..

[Cha]

of his presidency so far"

<snip>

"President Obama could have been smug. The bill that makes his most prized policy priority a reality, the culmination of more than a year’s work, is making its way to his desk to be signed into law. At the same time he is steadily cutting a path into the history books as the man who presided over the most substantial expansion of social programs since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiatives of the 1960s. Had he failed, his political obituary would have been written 10,000 times over this week. But he didn’t. He could have been gleeful, obnoxiously joyous about this enormous victory. But he wasn’t. He soberly reminded the nation what was at stake tonight. And behind him, Joe Biden fought back tears.

Tonight, the president said, “The U.S. Congress finally declared that America’s workers, and American families and America’s small businesses deserve the security of knowing that here in this country neither illness nor accident should endanger the dreams they’ve worked a lifetime to achieve ... We rose above the weight of our politics … Most importantly, today’s vote answers the prayers of every American who has hoped deeply for something to be done about a health-care system that works for insurance companies, but not for ordinary people. For most Americans, this debate has never been about abstractions, the fight between right and left, Republican and Democrat—it’s always been about something far more personal. It’s about every American who knows the shock of opening an envelope to see that their premiums just shot up again when times are already tough enough. It’s about every parent who knows the desperation of trying to cover a child with a chronic illness only to be told 'no' again and again and again. It’s about every small-business owner forced to choose between insuring employees and staying open for business. They are why we committed ourselves to this cause.”

<more>
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/03/22/obama-strikes-classy-tone-on-most-important-night-of-his-presidency-so-far.aspx

I don't care who tries to push the meme that the President has no class..it just isn't a fact.

[Jackeens]

1. Don't worry about the meme-pushers Cha, we know where they're coming from.

:hi:

[Cha]

2. The President is the classiest! And, so is that VP Joe

Biden who had it right when he said it was a Big Fuckin' Deal. Good for you, Joe, and good for the President backing him up.

:hi:Jackeens~

[quiet.american]

3. When John Boehner and Sarah Palin are forgotten, Barack's name will be studied for the ages. nt

[Cha]

4. Yes, QA~ When all the hate and ignorance has

been relagated to the dust bin of history..President Barack Obama will set the bar for inspiration and encouragement in learning and answering the call to service.

[quiet.american]

5. Hello! I unapologetically second that emotion, Cha. :) nt

[Cha]

6. Here's a Primo example of what you're talking about, QA..

<snip>

"Playing The Long Game"

That ability -- to see the entire contour of a lengthy political battle -- may be the most important factor in Obama's success. It got him to the White House, and it enabled him to achieve the most meaningful piece of social legislation in generations.

Remember when August's town hall meetings on health-care reform changed everything? Remember when it all hinged on Max Baucus' "Gang of Six"? Remember when Olympia Snowe held the fate of reform in her hands? Remember when Scott Brown's election killed any chance the bill had? At the time, all these things seemed so important that nothing else mattered. But what really mattered was the willingness to look beyond them, to see each as one step in a long journey -- obstacles that could be maneuvered around if necessary. Looking back, none seem as significant as they did then. But it took a particular kind of calm to realize that at the time.

Multiple news reports have related that at that crucial moment after Brown won the election for the vacant Senate seat from Massachusetts, advocates of two paths competed for Obama's heart, all while congressional Democrats were in a full-on panic. The first group, represented most notably by White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, counseled a regrouping -- breaking the health-care bill into smaller pieces that might be swallowed more easily. The second group, represented by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, wanted to charge ahead and proceed as if one special election hadn't changed anything. Perhaps this strategy would require a procedural adjustment in Congress, but not much more. Obama sided with Pelosi, and as it usually does, in hindsight the choice seems obvious. But it required courage, equanimity, and the ability to employ a long vision.

A long vision does more than illuminate the path to an electoral or legislative victory. It also enables one to plan for changes that can extend past a single presidency. In January of 2008, Obama articulated this idea with a compliment for the 40th president. "Ronald Reagan," Obama said, "changed the trajectory of America in a way that Richard Nixon did not, and in a way that Bill Clinton did not. He put us on a fundamentally different path because the country was ready for it." Unsurprisingly, Bill and Hillary Clinton were not particularly pleased with this comment. But Obama was right -- Clinton tends to be thought of as a good but not great president, despite his considerable accomplishments. This is most true on the economy, where what happened during his term was extraordinary -- a remarkable 22 million jobs created, significant reductions in poverty, and a prosperity that even people at the lower end of the economic scale shared in, a welcome historical anomaly in recent decades."

<more>
http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=playing_the_long_game

Thanks to babylonsister for finding this link.

[DevonRex]

7. That "lack of class" meme is racist, IMO.

Thanks for posting this article here. :hi:

[Cha]

8. It's also desperate and smacks more than

a little bit of jealousy.

:hi:

[DevonRex]

9. And perhaps a bit of

bitterness? :rofl: